Preventing double input of scanned documents

ABSTRACT

An image forming apparatus ( 1000 ) is equipped with a scanner ( 1002 ) for scanning a paper document to thereby convert it to document data; a document memory ( 1008 ) for storing the document data; and a history memory ( 1007 ) for holding a history of user operations on the document data in association with whether or not the user operations are being managed as an object of control processing. A user operation upon document data is accepted from a operating unit ( 1001 ). If this user operation is being managed as an operation that is not an object of control processing in the history memory ( 1007 ), then the document data is processed based upon this user operation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a document managing apparatus andmethod for managing document data.

2. Description of the Related Art

At present a transition is being made to a system in which large numbersof documents are managed with electronic data serving as originalcopies. Medical charts are no exception among these documents. Put intoelectronic form, these can benefit from the promotion of shared use andreductions in archiving space and cost. While the rapid digitization ofmedical charts per se is sought, on the other hand it is realized thatpaper, which lends itself to free description, serves as an importantinterface as a means for efficiently summing up random conversationswith a patient, which often do not proceed logically, or as a means forappending additional information such as realistic representations of anaffected part. For this reason, the state of the art is such that thedigitization of medical charts is difficult.

In order to solve this problem, a method of putting a medical chart intoelectronic form while supporting free description by using a combinationinput/display device and pen tablet has been proposed (see thespecification of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-162120).Further, a system in which a paper medical chart is written on and thenscanned to thereby archive the chart has been proposed (see thespecification of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-315241).

Although the conventional chart management system of the kind describedin Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-162120 is such that thepen tablet is suited to the drawing of pictures, it does not lend itselfto the writing of characters. Further, the system set forth in JapanesePatent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-315241 is disadvantageous in thatit is not possible to add to or revise paper-based freely written dataonce it has been stored. For these reasons, a method being studiedinvolves equipping a multifunction peripheral with a sophisticateddocument management function. With this method, editing is done in theform of a paper document. To achieve archiving and sharing, the paperdocument is scanned and is managed within the multifunction peripheralas an electronic document.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams useful in describing a method of utilizingthe document management function of a multifunction peripheral to carryout editing in the form of a paper document, perform archiving andsharing of documents by scanning the paper document, and managing thedocument within the multifunction peripheral in the form of anelectronic document.

First, reference will be had to FIG. 2A to mainly describe a case inwhich a medical chart is updated frequently. Here a document handled bya user 2000 is given expression in the form of paper, while a documentstored by a multifunction peripheral 2100 is given expression in theform of electronic data. When a paper medical chart A is created by theuser 2000, the chart is scanned and stored in the multifunctionperipheral 2100 by the user in order to be archived and shared. Anelectronic medical chart A corresponding to the paper chart is formed bythe multifunction peripheral 2100. Next, the user 2000 revises the papermedical chart A, thereby creating a paper medical chart B. In order toarchive and share the chart, the user again scans the document andstores it in the multifunction peripheral 2100, thereby forming anelectronic medical chart B. At this time the consistency of theelectronic medical chart A and electronic medical chart B is judged bythe multifunction peripheral 2100 based upon identifying information,and the electronic medical chart A within the multifunction peripheralis updated to the electronic medical chart B. Similar updating isrepeated and a paper medical chart C and electronic medical chart C areformed.

Next, reference will be had to FIG. 2B to mainly describe a case where amedical chart is updated infrequently. Here a document handled by a user2200 is given expression in the form of paper, while a document storedby a multifunction peripheral 2300 is given expression in the form ofelectronic data. When a paper medical chart A is created by the user2200, the chart is scanned and stored in the multifunction peripheral2300 by the user in order to be archived and shared. An electronicmedical chart A corresponding to the paper chart is formed by themultifunction peripheral 2300. Thereafter, since no updating isscheduled for some time, the user 2200 discards the paper medical chartA. Next, if it becomes necessary for the user 2200 to edit the chart,then the user 2200 prints out the electronic medical chart A within themultifunction peripheral 2300 and forms a paper medical chart A. Theuser 2200 then revises the paper medical chart A and creates a papermedical chart B. In order to archive and share the chart, the user 2200again scans the document and stores it in the multifunction peripheral2300, thereby forming an electronic medical chart B. Thereafter, sinceno updating is scheduled for some time, the user 2200 discards the papermedical chart B.

Studies of whether or not the convenience of free description and theconvenience of electronification of medical charts are both achieved byusing these methods are in progress.

However, when both of the foregoing methods are used together, paperdocuments and electronic documents are managed in a complicated mannerand it becomes difficult to maintain the consistency of electronicmedical charts. For example, if a substitute physician makes a diagnosisbecause the physician in charge is absent, or if the same patient isdiagnosed by an intern or supervising physician on the same day, anumber of paper medical charts for editing will come into existence,causing difficulty in identifying the latest chart.

FIG. 3 is a diagram useful in describing an example of a case wherethere are a number of paper medical charts for editing. A documenthandled by users 3000 and 3200 is expressed in the form of paper, and adocument stored by a multifunction peripheral 3100 is expressed byelectronic data. First, when a paper medical chart A is created by theuser 3000, the chart is scanned and stored in the multifunctionperipheral 3100 by the user in order to be archived and shared.Thereafter, since no updating is scheduled for some time, the user 3000discards the paper medical chart A. Next, if it becomes necessary forthe user 3000 to edit the chart, the user 3000 prints out the electronicmedical chart A within the multifunction peripheral 3100 and forms apaper medical chart A. Next, the user 3000 revises the paper medicalchart A and creates a paper medical chart B. If it becomes necessary forthe user 3200 to also edit the chart at the same time, the user 3200prints out the electronic medical chart A within the multifunctionperipheral 3200 and forms a paper medical chart A. Next, the user 3200revises the paper medical chart A and creates a paper medical chart B*.If the users 3000 and 3200 subsequently attempt to update the electronicmedical chart, they will try to scan in their paper medical charts.However, a problem 3300 occurs, namely that the newest paper medicalcharts cannot be determined.

Thus, as described above, in a method that involves editing in the formof a paper document, archiving and sharing of the document by scanningthe paper document and managing the document within the multifunctionperipheral as an electronic document, it is difficult to manage medicalcharts while maintaining consistency among the charts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention enables the provision of a document managingapparatus and method for managing document data in a unified fashion,managing the document data while maintaining consistency of the contentsof the document, and doing so while enabling various users to operate onthe document.

According to the present invention, the foregoing problem is solved byproviding a document managing apparatus comprising:

a storage unit adapted to store document data;

a print designating unit adapted to cause an image, which representsdocument data that has been stored in the storage unit, to be printed ona print medium by a printing apparatus;

an updating unit adapted to update the document data, which has beenstored in the storage unit, by reading the print medium, on which theimage representing the document data has been printed based upon adesignation by the print designating unit, by a reading apparatus; and

a restricting unit adapted to restrict an update by the updating unit ofa print medium other than the print medium on which the image has beenprinted in response to the designation by the print designating unit,the restriction being imposed after the image representing the documentdata has been printed based upon the designation by the printdesignating unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the foregoingproblem is solved by providing a document managing apparatus comprising:

a storage unit adapted to store document data;

a print designating unit adapted to cause an image, which representsdocument data that has been stored in the storage unit, to be printed ona print medium by a printing apparatus;

an updating unit adapted to update the document data, which has beenstored in the storage unit, by reading the print medium, on which theimage representing the document data has been printed based upon adesignation by the print designating unit, by a reading apparatus; and

a notification unit, wherein in a case where after the imagerepresenting the document data has been printed based upon thedesignation by the print designating unit, another print designation bythe print designating unit is made before an update by the updatingunit, the notification unit is adapted to give notification of thisfact.

In still another aspect of the present invention, the foregoing problemis solved by providing a document management method comprising the stepsof:

storing document data in a storage device;

causing an image, which represents document data that has been stored atthe storage step, to be printed on a print medium by a printingapparatus;

updating the document data, which has been stored at the storage step,by reading the print medium, on which the image representing thedocument data has been printed based upon a designation at the printdesignating step, by a reading apparatus; and

restricting an update at the updating step of a print medium other thanthe print medium on which the image has been printed in response to thedesignation at the print designating step, the restriction being imposedafter the image representing the document data has been printed basedupon the designation at the print designating step.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an imageforming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams useful in describing a method of utilizingthe document management function of a multifunction peripheral to carryout editing in the form of a paper document, perform archiving andsharing of documents by scanning the paper document, and managing thedocument within the multifunction peripheral in the form of anelectronic document;

FIG. 3 is a diagram useful in describing an example of a case where anumber of paper medical charts for editing come into existence;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart useful in describing the flow of controlprocessing based upon operation history of the image forming systemaccording to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram useful in describing control content in an imageforming system according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram useful in describing control content in an imageforming system according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 7 is a diagram useful in describing control content in an imageforming system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described indetail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that therelative arrangement of the components, the numerical expressions andthe numerical values set forth in these embodiments do not limit thescope of the present invention unless it is specifically statedotherwise.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an imageforming system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.This image forming system is constructed using a digital multifunctionperipheral (image forming apparatus) 1000.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system includes an operating unit 1001 throughwhich the system accepts user operations and transmits these useroperations to a controller 1004. A scanner 1002 transmits a generatedimage to the controller 1004. A printer 1003 forms an image acceptedfrom the controller 1004.

The controller 1004 executes processing such as scanning and printingbased upon input information from the operating unit 1001, supplies theoperating unit 1001 with information such as device status and jobstatus, and processes generated electronic data and a history ofoperations performed on the data. A history managing unit 1005 managesand holds a history of a series of operations in accordance with aninstruction from the controller 1004, and a document managing unit 1006manages electronic data in accordance with an instruction from thecontroller 1004. A history memory 1007 is a location at which theoperation history is stored, and a document memory 1008 is a location atwhich electronic data is stored.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart useful in describing the flow of controlprocessing based upon operation history in the image forming systemaccording to the first embodiment. First, by using the operating unit1001, a user operation request is generated and the request is deliveredto the controller 1004 (step S4001). Next, upon accepting the useroperation request, the controller 1004 authenticates the user who issuedthe operation request, determines whether the user has appropriateauthority for operation for operation execution and decides therequesting user from this point onward (step S4002).

After determining by authentication that the user can execute anoperation, the controller 1004 accesses the history memory 1007 throughthe history managing unit 1005 and searches the history memory 1007 fora history of operations on the document that is the target of anoperation (step S4003). If the result of the search is that theoperation history is a pattern to undergo control processing (adesignated history pattern), control proceeds to step S4004. If this isnot the case and the operation history is an ordinary history pattern,then control proceeds to step S4005.

If it has been determined at step S4003 that the pattern is to undergocontrol processing, then control processing is executed at step S4004and, at the same time, the user is notified of the result of processingthrough the operating unit 1001. On the other hand, if it has beendetermined at step S4003 that the pattern is not to undergo controlprocessing, then the operation requested by the user is executed byoperating the scanner 1002, printer 1003 and document managing unit 1006at step S4005.

Next, specific processing that is in accordance with the foregoingflowchart will be described. A user operation request is assumed to be aprint request, and a designated operation history pattern is assumed toa print operation history based upon an unspecified user B, without theentry of a scan operation history of an unspecified user A followingstorage of a print operation history based upon the unspecified user A.FIG. 5 is a diagram useful in describing the flow of processing.

First, a user 5100 creates a paper medical chart A and stores this as anelectronic medical chart A in the document memory 1008 of amultifunction peripheral 5200 via the scanner 1002. At this time thescanning operation by the user 5100 is logged in the history memory 1007as history. The paper medical chart A is then discarded by the user,etc.

At a later time, in that the user 5100 may perform editing, the user5100 uses the operating unit 1001 to instruct printout from the printer1003 in order that paper medical chart A may be obtained from electronicmedical chart A (step S4001). When this is done, a screen forauthenticating the user is displayed on the operating unit 1001 and thefact that the user is the user 5100 is recognized from the content ofthe input (step S4002). Next, at step S4003, the operation history isanalyzed. Since only scanning by the user 5100 has been logged in thehistory, control proceeds to step S4005 and the electronic medical chartA is printed out. At the same time, the printing operation by the user5100 is logged in the history memory 1007 as history. If under theseconditions a user 5300 requests the controller 1004 for a printingoperation via the operating unit 1001, user authentication is performedand the user 5300 is authenticated at step S4002 in a manner similar tothat described above. The operation history is then analyzed at stepS4003, and it becomes clear from the history stored in the historymemory 1007 that the electronic medical chart A was not scanned after itwas printed by the user 5100. That is, since this fits the designatedhistory pattern, control proceeds to step S4004. Here the fact that theprintout by the user 5300 is the target of operation control isdetermined by the controller 1004, the print request from the user 5300is not allowed and printout of the electronic medical chart A isinhibited.

Thus, in accordance with this embodiment, in a case where there is thepossibility that an unspecified user A has performed editing afterprinting, printout for the purpose of editing by an unspecified user Bcan be restricted. Accordingly, multiple copies of the same papermedical chart that should be the original will no longer come intoexistence and inconveniences no longer occur when an electronic medicalchart is updated.

Second Embodiment

In this embodiment, the user operation request is assumed to be a scanrequest in the first embodiment, and the designated operation historypattern is assumed to a scan operation by an unspecified user Afollowing a print operation history based upon an unspecified user B,which is subsequent to a print operation history by the unspecified userA. FIG. 6 is a diagram useful in describing control content in an imageforming system according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention. The description that follows will center mainly upon thedifference between this embodiment and the first embodiment.

First, a user 6100 creates a paper medical chart A and stores this as anelectronic medical chart A in the document memory 1008 of amultifunction peripheral 6200 via the scanner 1002. At this time thescanning operation by the user 6100 is recorded in the history memory1007 as a history. The paper medical chart A is then discarded by theuser.

At a later time, in order that the user 6100 may perform editing, theuser 6100 uses the operating unit 1001 to instruct printout from theprinter 1003 in order that paper medical chart A may be obtained fromelectronic medical chart A (step S4001). When this is done, a screen forauthenticating the user is displayed on the operating unit 1001 and thefact that the user is the user 6100 is recognized from the content ofthe input (step S4002). Next, at step S4003, the operation history isanalyzed. Since only scanning by the user 6100 has been logged in thehistory, control proceeds to step S4005 and the electronic medical chartA is printed out. At the same time, the fact that printing was performedby the user 6100 is logged in the history memory 1007 as history.Thereafter, in order for a user 6300 also to perform editing, the user6300 prints out the electronic medical chart A as the paper medicalchart A using the printer 1003. The printing operation by the user 6300is logged in the history memory 1007 as history. In other words,although printout of the electronic medical chart A by user 6100 hasbeen stored in the history memory 1007 as the latest history, printoutby user 6300 also is allowed. Under these conditions, the user 6100requests the controller 1004 for a scanning operation via the operatingunit 1001 (step S4100). User authentication at step S4200 is performedand analysis of the history based upon the history memory 1007 iscarried out at step S4003. It is clear that after printing was performedby user 6100, printing was performed by user 6300. The fact that thescanning operation by the user 6100 is the target of operation controlis determined by the controller 1004 and the scan request from the user6100 is inhibited. On the other hand, if user 6300 has used theoperating unit 1001 to perform an operation that does not involve theediting of the paper medical chart A, then control proceeds to stepS4005 and scanning is allowed. That is, since the chart that resultsfrom scanning of paper medical chart A by the user may be updated fromthe electronic medical chart A in the document memory 1008, the scanrequest from user 1006 is allowed, scanning of paper medical chart A isperformed and electronic medical chart A in document memory 1008 isupdated.

Thus, in a case where there is the possibility that an unspecified userB has performed editing after printing has been performed by anunspecified user A, updating by the unspecified user A can berestricted. Updating can be allowed if it is determined that user B hasnot performed editing.

Third Embodiment

In this embodiment, the user operation request is assumed to be ascanning request in the first embodiment, and the designated operationhistory pattern is assumed to a scanning operation based upon anunspecified user B following a scan operation history based upon anunspecified user A, which is subsequent to a print operation history bythe unspecified users A and B. FIG. 7 is a diagram useful in describingcontrol content in an image forming system according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention. The description that follows willcenter mainly upon the difference between this embodiment and the firstembodiment.

First, a user 7100 creates a paper medical chart A and stores this as anelectronic medical chart A in the document memory 1008 of amultifunction peripheral 6200 via the scanner 1002. At this time thescanning operation by the user 7100 is recorded in the history memory1007 as a history. The paper medical chart A is then discarded by theuser.

At a later time, in order to perform editing, users 7100 and 7300 printout the electronic medical chart A as the paper medical chart A in nospecial order using the printer 1003. At the same time, the printingoperations by the users 7100 and 7300 are recorded in the history memory1007 as history. Thereafter, assume that user 7100 edits the papermedical chart A to obtain paper medical chart B and then scans papermedical chart B to obtain electronic medical chart B. At the same time,scanning by user 7100 is recorded in history memory 1007 as history.Under these conditions, user 7300 requests a scanning operation of thecontroller 1004 via the operating unit 1001 (step S4001). Userauthentication at step S4200 is performed and analysis of the historybased upon the history memory 1007 is carried out at step S4003. It isclear that after printing was performed by users 7100 and 7300, scanningwas performed by user 7100. The fact that the scanning by the user 7300is the target of operation control is determined by the controller 1004and the scanning request by the user 7300 is inhibited. In other words,the scanning of paper medical chart B that user 7300 is attempting toscan is inhibited because it does not reflect the revisions made topaper medical chart B that was scanned by user 7100.

Thus, it is possible to restricting the update by unspecified user B forwhich there is the danger that the update by unspecified user A will bedeleted because unspecified user A performed the update afterunspecified users A and B performed printing.

Fourth Embodiment

In this embodiment, the method of controlling operation requested by auser is implemented by displaying a warning message in the first tothird embodiments described above.

First, if a user requests each operation through the operating unit1001, the controller 1004 determines whether the operation is a targetof control that fits the designated history pattern. If it determinedthat operation requested by the user is the target of control, then amessage suggesting that there is a possibility that the operationrequested by the user will cause branching of the medical chart, namelya warning message indicating the danger that multiple copies of thechart may be produced by updating, is displayed on the operating unit1001. In the first to third embodiments, it is so arranged thatprocessing regarding an operation request is inhibited. However, in theevent that there is an instruction to go forward with processing(updating of an electronic medical chart by scanning or printout of anelectronic medical chart) in response to the warning message, then theprocessing is executed.

Thus, in a case where there is the possibility that one's own requestedoperation will cause branching of a chart, the user requesting theoperation can ascertain this in advance.

Fifth Embodiment

In the embodiments described above, under what conditions a papermedical chart has been printed out is determined depending upon userauthentication. In this embodiment, under what conditions a paper charthas been printed out is determined by appending (forming on the printedsurface) a document identifier (e.g., a two-dimensional barcode, etc.)when a medical chart has been printed out as a paper medical chart.

More specifically, in FIG. 7, and by way of example, a documentidentifier (inclusive also of information that makes it possible todiscriminate that the chart is electronic medical chart A) in a casewhere user 7100 has printed out electronic medical chart A and adocument identifier in a case where user 7300 has printed out electronicmedical chart A differ from each other. Such an identifier is appended.As a result, when a paper medical chart has been scanned, whetherupdating of the electronic medical chart by such scanning may beperformed or not can be determined without performing userauthentication.

Further, it may be so arranged that when an electronic medical chart isprinted out, whether the printout is one for the purpose of editing orone for the purpose of viewing can be specified from the operating unit1001, and it may be so arranged that each printout is furnished with adocument identifier that makes it possible to distinguish it from theother. As a result, when a paper medical chart is scanned, updating ofthe electronic medical chart is allowed if a document identifierindicating that the purpose is editing has been attached to the chart,and updating of the electronic medical chart can be inhibited if adocument identifier indicating that the purpose is view has beenattached to the chart. In this case, printout of an electronic medicalchart for the purpose of editing anew is inhibited until a paper medicalchart for the purpose of editing is scanned.

In the embodiments described above, the storage of document data andoperation history is performed within a multifunction peripheral.However, the invention is not limited to such an arrangement and thestorage device may be a server computer, etc., installed on a network.In such case the scanning of the document and the issuance of operatinginstructions by the user would be performed by a multifunctionperipheral and other operations would be performed by the servercomputer. Of course, operations such as the inputting and changing ofdocument data may be performed by a computer terminal or the likewithout using a multifunction peripheral. Further, it may be so arrangedthat when document data is managed, the system executes characterrecognition processing, adds on text-coded information and conducts asearch based upon a keyword.

Thus, by virtue of the foregoing embodiments, it is possible to managedocument data in unified fashion, manage the document while maintainingconsistency of the contents of the document, and do so while enablingvarious users to operate on the document.

Other Embodiments

Note that the present invention can be applied to an apparatuscomprising a single device or to system constituted by a plurality ofdevices.

Furthermore, the invention can be implemented by supplying a softwareprogram, which implements the functions of the foregoing embodiments,directly or indirectly to a system or apparatus, reading the suppliedprogram code with a computer of the system or apparatus, and thenexecuting the program code. In this case, so long as the system orapparatus has the functions of the program, the mode of implementationneed not rely upon a program.

Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention areimplemented by computer, the program code itself installed in thecomputer also implements the present invention. In other words, theclaims of the present invention also cover a computer program for thepurpose of implementing the functions of the present invention.

In this case, so long as the system or apparatus has the functions ofthe program, the program may be executed in any form, e.g., as objectcode, a program executed by an interpreter, or scrip data supplied to anoperating system.

Example of storage media that can be used for supplying the program area floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, aCD-ROM, a CD-R, a CD-RW, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile type memorycard, a ROM, and a DVD (DVD-ROM and a DVD-R).

As for the method of supplying the program, a client computer can beconnected to a website on the Internet using a browser of the clientcomputer, and the computer program of the present invention or anautomatically-installable compressed file of the program can bedownloaded to a recording medium such as a hard disk. Further, theprogram of the present invention can be supplied by dividing the programcode constituting the program into a plurality of files and downloadingthe files from different websites. In other words, a WWW (World WideWeb) server that downloads, to multiple users, the program files thatimplement the functions of the present invention by computer is alsocovered by the claims of the present invention.

Further, it is also possible to encrypt and store the program of thepresent invention on a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distribute thestorage medium to users, allow users who meet certain requirements todownload decryption key information from a website via the Internet, andallow these users to decrypt the encrypted program by using the keyinformation, whereby the program is installed in the user computer.

Furthermore, besides the case where the aforesaid functions according tothe embodiments are implemented by executing the read program bycomputer, an operating system or the like running on the computer mayperform all or a part of the actual processing so that the functions ofthe foregoing embodiments can be implemented by this processing.

Furthermore, after the program read from the storage medium is writtento a function expansion board inserted into the computer or to a memoryprovided in a function expansion unit connected to the computer, a CPUor the like mounted on the function expansion board or functionexpansion unit performs all or a part of the actual processing so thatthe functions of the foregoing embodiments can be implemented by thisprocessing.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2005-352332, filed on Dec. 6, 2005, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

1. A document managing apparatus comprising: an input unit adapted toscan-in an original print medium and, consequently, form document data;a storage device adapted to store the document data; a print designatingunit adapted to cause an image, which represents the document data thathas been stored in said storage device, to be printed on each of aplurality of different print mediums by a printing apparatus; anupdating unit adapted to update the document data, which has been storedin said storage device, by scanning-in a first print medium of theplurality of different print mediums ahead of the other of the pluralityof different print mediums; and a restricting unit adapted to restrictan update of the document data by said updating unit by scanning-in anyof the other of the plurality of different print mediums after theupdating unit has updated the document data based upon the scanned-infirst print medium.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising an authenticating unit adapted to authenticate a user who hasperformed an operation for designating printing using said printdesignating unit; and a history holding unit adapted to hold a historyof operations on the document data in association with informationconcerning the user who performed the operations; wherein saidrestricting unit is adapted to restrict an update by said updating unitbased upon the user authenticated by said authenticating unit and thehistory being held by said history holding unit.
 3. The apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein said history holding unit is adapted tomanage the history of user operations on a per-identical-document basis.4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said history holding unitis adapted to hold a history of print operations on the document data bya first user; and said restricting unit is adapted to restrict a printoperation on the document data by a second user carried out before ascanning operation is performed by the first user.
 5. The apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein said history holding unit is adapted tohold a history of print operations on the document data by a first userand a history of print operations on the document data by a second usercarried; and said restricting unit is adapted to restrict updating ofthe document data, which has been stored by said storage device, bydocument data obtained by conversion by scanning of a document that hasbeen printed out with respect to the first user.
 6. The apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein said history holding unit is adapted tohold a history of print operations on the document data by a first user,a history of print operations on the document data by a second user, anda history of updating of the document data, which has been stored bysaid storage unit, by document data obtained by conversion by scanningof a document that has been printed out with respect to the first user;and said restricting unit is adapted to restrict a print operation onthe updated document data by the second user.
 7. A document managementmethod comprising the steps of: scanning-in an original print mediumand, consequently, forming document data; storing document data in astorage device; causing an image, which represents the document datathat has been stored at said storage step, to be printed on each of aplurality of different print mediums by a printing apparatus; updatingthe document data, which has been stored at said storage step, byscanning-in a first print medium of the plurality of different printmediums ahead of the other of the plurality of different print mediums;and restricting an update of the document data at said updating step byscanning-in any of the other of the plurality of different print mediumsafter the updating unit has updated the document data based upon thescanned-in first print medium.